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tv   Starting Point  CNN  September 6, 2012 7:00am-9:00am EDT

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obama on the job. >> did he hit the mark last night? how republicans are butting this morning and tonight the culmination of the democratic national convention, president obama will tell the american people why they should give him four more years. we'll take a look at what he needs to accomplish with his speech tonight and convention floor chaos, a last minute change in the platform to add a mention of god and jerusalem as the capital of israel and after president obama intervenes and how did that happen? we'll ask the dnc boss herself, debbie wasserman results will be our guest and new york mayor cory booker and emergennew jers mayor. he is an obama deputy campaign manager and stephanie cutter will be with us, a political activist will i am will be with us and flo ri da will join us
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and starting point begins right now. welcome, everyone. the team this morning is dana bash, a senior congressional correspondent and chris van hollen, we have never met in person. we have only done it via satellite. nice to have you with us. margaret hoover is with us, former white house appointee in the bush administration and ryan at the end again. we really do, washington correspondent for the new yorker. i see. starting point this morning, the democrats main event tonight. vice president joe biden will take the stage followed by the president, president obama, who will close the convention here in charlotte when he accepts the party nomination for a second term. tough act to follow, though, from last night. last night was vintage bill clinton. he delivered a nominating speech that was fiery and kind of long with really a down home touch.
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he said he is a country boy from arkansas and defended the president's handling of the economy and republicans have not made the case to replace him and some people say it was one of his best. >> you said it was long, 48 minutes and 30 seconds to be exact and that is 15 minutes longer than the speech that he gave back in 1988 that he got panned for when he was kind of a no-name governor for being long. talk to obama official this is morning, they don't care how long it was. they think he did exactly what they wanted him to do. >> this is the lasting image of the evening, an embrace just four years ago few could imagine. the former president made clear bitterness over the bruising battle between his wife and obama is ancient history, repeatedly making the case for four more years as only bill clinton can. >> if you want a winner take all, you're on your own society, you should support the republican ticket.
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if you want a country of shared opportunities and shared responsibility, we're all in this together society, you should vote for barack obama and joe biden. >> the man who could famously feel your pain vouched for obama's empathy. >> i want to nominate a man who is cool on the outside but who burns for america on the inside. >> he eagerly reminded people he presided over historic economic prosperity as he pushed back on gop arguments that obama could have done more. >> no president, not me, not any of my predecessors, no one could have fully repaired all of the damage that he found in just four years.
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but he has laid the foundation for a new, modern, successful economy, a shared prosperity, and if you will renew the president's contract, you will feel it. >> he tore apart the romney economic plan. >> we simply cannot afford to give the reins of government to someone who will double down on trickle down. >> clinton was not alone in primetime. democrats chose two if he nail speakers, liberal icon and senate candidate elizabeth warren. >> the system is rigged. look around. oil companies guzzle down billions in profits. billionaires pay lower tax rates than their secretaries. >> a strong finish for an evening that started out rough.
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a day earlier democrats approved a party platform that removed the word god and dropped the goal of jerusalem as israel's capital. after what sources say was a private revolt among many democratic officials and activists, party leaders decided to fix it which caused a flash of embarrassing chaos. >> all of those in favor of suspending the rules a aye. >> aye. >> all of those opposed say no. >> the los angeles mayor and convention chair took the vote three times until finally declaring the changes approved. >> i will do that one more time. all of those delegates in favor say aye. >> aye. >> all of those delegates opposed say no. >> no. >> and the opinion of the chair two-thirds voted in the affirmative, the motion is adopted and the platform has been amended as shown on the screen.
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>> you can hear that booing. i was sitting right in the sea of what happened there, right in the middle of the floor, and there were people who were absolutely not happy about that. i think that democrats, you can probably attest to this, are thrilled that bill clinton gave such a speech that that has kind of -- >> bumped it out of the headlines. we'll continue to talk about it. two-thir two-thirds. >> we'll discuss that and bring debbie wasserman schultz to talk about that this morning and cory booker coming up with us. tonight's coverage of the dnc continues at 7 p.m. eastern with will blitzer and anderson cooper and 10 p.m. you will hear president obama officially accept the party nomination for re-election and then at midnight piers morgan will wrap it all upright here at the cnn grill. still ahead mayor cory booker will join us and talk about what happened on the floor earlier in the day and president clinton's
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speech and first right to christine romans with a look at the other stories making news this morning. hey, christine. >> good morning, soledad. hurricane leslie is heading straight for bermuda. officials will are urging residents to prepare for the worst. right now leslie is a very slow-moving category 1 storm with 75 miles per hour sustained winds and it is about 445 miles southeast of bermuda and could become a category 2 hurricane by tomorrow. hurricane michael is now the first major hurricane this season. it is a category 3 in the mid-north atlantic. it is not a threat to land. >> bp officials are headed for the gulf coast, a 13 mile stretch of louisiana beaches remains close this had morning as sheens of oil and tar balls keep washing ashore in the aftermath of hurricane isaac. the coast guard reports finding three oiled birds. bp officials say they will test the tar balls to confirm whether they came from the 2010 deep water horizon spill the federal corruption trial of kwame kilpatrick begins today
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with jury selection. they're charged with more than 30 counts that include rackateering, bribery and fraud during his time in public office. the 42-year-old kilpatrick could face 30 years in prison in convicted. the dallas cowboys ready for football, the giants not so much. they beat big blue 24-17 as the 2012 nfl season kicked off last night. tony romo had three touchdown passes in the victory. as for the replacement officials, they were okay. no blunders. no on field confusion. the nfl locked out the regular refes in a contract dispute. andy roddick ending his career last night after losing to juan martin dell quattro in four sets. roddick announced this would be his last tournament. >> it has been a road, a lot of ups, a lot of downs, a lot of great moments. i have appreciated your support along the way.
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i know i certainly haven't made it easy for you at times, but i really do appreciate it and love you guys with all my heart. >> wow. roddick was the last american man to win a grand slam at the u.s. open in 2003 and also the last american man to hold the number one ranking. farewell, andy roddick. can't wait to see what he does next. >> christine, thanks. appreciate it. our starting point, back to that, president obama will accept his party's nomination for president tonight, a ringing endorsement from the former president bill clinton. here is a little of how it went. >> barack obama to be the next president of the united states and i proudly nominate him to be the standard bearer of the democratic party. >> new jersey mayor cory booker is with us. some people said that was one of the best speeches he ever gave, certainly a long speech. i think he is known for that so. it was a terrific speech. he really laid out sort of the
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accomplishments of the administration, i thought. >> with the exception of the two candidates themselves, in my opinion, because it cut through a lot of negativity you are hearing in the media about the campaign and the sound bites and it was almost like a lecture married a good baptist sermon. >> sort of like i thought like a white board, okay, let's go back to welfare reform. >> i was in the delegation and people were really taking note of how he was explaining some of these complicated topics that are so easy to demagoge and demonize and making them plain and simple and easily understood and gave it in a way that everybody could digest and come away with a deeper understanding of the truth. >> the $64,000 question is going to be does that sliver of people who are undecided, did they get that same feeling? the people in the room are voting for president obama? >> cynical analysis is 1 or 2 million people in a handful of swing states that you have to
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get through to. >> was he able to do that? >> i really think anybody who took the time to listen to that speech really would have been convinced in a lot of these issues and i am hoping that he penetrated. >> what happens next? someone next to me said he should take this on the road. like with a white board and go around and do you really expect that is what will happen? >> i think this whole campaign will be about can the democrats, can my party tell the truth in a way that people can understand it because this is a complicated time, difficult time, painful time, and the president has taken incredible steps. i was on the phone with a friend of mine like bill clinton said who had $150,000 in loans but now because of a program barack obama did they only play a certain percentage of salary in terms of the college loan making a tremendous difference and opening up pathways to higher education which is a great return on investment in terms of the growth of our economy. these are complicated to understand. theres no sound bites. bill clinton was a master of we have to amend it, not end it, the one word ways of putting
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things. that's what we have to do. if the party can get the message through, we're going to win this election. >> why would it take bill clinton to make the case? why haven't democrats been able to make the case and raving about bill clinton making the case? >> in all fairness and he said it about the president himself, remember, i said bill clinton was besides the candidates themselves the best messenger. barack obama, if you take time to listen to him but as bill clinton said in the beginningful speech, this guy has been demonized and unleashed hatred in a way we have rarely seen in politics. >> still a big megaphone. >> absolutely and that's why i think he is actually in this race. that's why i think that even though we are in an economy that has recovered so much from the pain in which barack obama inherited, we still have a high unemployment rate and the reason why the president is ahead in many swing states is because he is the graes messenger. >> he is in all the clin ont speemp and implicit criticism
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that this white house hasn't been able to make its own case? >> i am telling you hold onto your seat. what you see tonight, the barack obama coming out, you will be reminded of that great orator that was discovered back two conventions ago that this country fell in love with. this is barack obama at his best. i stood with him once in the oval office and looked at him before the state of the union speech and he and i are both former athletes, and especially with me the former is the important part of that, and i talked the best game of basketball ever. i looked at him and said you, sir, are what we call a gamer. you rise to the challenge of the moment. you're going to see the president come out here and look the american public in the eye and explain it with the lucidity that bill clinton did and with the obama energy and the obama spirit we saw in the first lady that i think will penetrate tonight. >> he certainly had it keyed up for him. the question is can he close the deal? he actually has to make the case
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his policies and what he will do in the next four years will make the difference for 23 million unemployed. >> it is very pragmatic. this is what i am saying. the independent watchers of this know he proposed a jobs plan that would put hundreds of thousands and not millions of americans to work. >> has to take some responsibility. >> one of the things that i think president clinton underscored, wasn't in the clips, the fact that president obama is willing to make the hard decisions, is willing to be a compromiser and when he was greeted by the republican tea party in the house, he found a group of people that thought compromise was a dirty word, and that is the problem that we're facing right now. if you want to take a balanced approach to dealing with the deficit, if you want to do the kind of things that president clinton did, if you look at the president's plan, it follows the framework of bowles-simpson and has a mix of spending cuts and also has revenue where as what romney and ryan are saying is
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not one more penny from folks at the high end and that means everyone else gets hit harder. >> i want to ask the mayor about this platform chaos, and i think i don't use chaos lightly. >> it is an extreme word. >> it is an extreme word to me and i think it fits on this one. i will play a clip of what happened on the floor in the afternoon before we headed down for the big speeches. listen. >> all of those delegates in favor say aye. >> aye. >> all of those in delegates opposed say no. >> no. >> the opinion of the -- let me do that again. all of those delegates in favor say aye. >> aye. >> all of those delegates opposed say no. >> no. >> i will do that one more time. all of those delegates in favor say aye. >> aye. >> all of those delegates opposed say no. >> no.
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>> the opinion of the chair two-thirds have voted in the affirmative. the motion is adopted. >> two-thirds of the vote was affirmative? i mean, we listened to that three times. that was a vote i shoulder tell everybody to amend the platform. >> to have it reflect the platform of 2008. i was watching that at home and i am on the co-chair of the platform committee and it is one of those times i really wish i could have jumped in a car and sped there and gotten there. when i got to the arena and started talking to the people actually on the floor saying what happened, what happened? most of those people i talked to said i don't know. i said, wait a minute, do you understand all we were trying to do was add back the language we have had convention after convention? >> how did that happen platforms -- somehow you sit around and throw it on on a piece of paper and here is the platform. >> this is a process i am so proud of. you have people coming from all over the country together in --
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first of all, god was in there. faith was in there. there are so many issues and some of my a this friends, how, always talking about religion. all of thosish autos were in there. the word god is not in there and people are pulling it out and mik r making a big deal. that didn't bother me as much. what bothered me is the affirmation jerusalem is the capital of israel and that sack sankt element, it is not a controversial issue in american politics. we have a uninimitie and it was an omission and i take responsibility as being part of the larger platform. it was an unfortunate omission and in no way detract from the point that we have a president of the united states who believes both in god and we know that but also believes in that plank and it was an unfortunate omission and the great thing about this is as ugly as the process was, i have this extreme word and as bad as the process, we got to the end and the beauty of getting to the end is here you have a romney campaign who
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says i don't believe what my plank is, the abortion under no circumstances, rape, incest, he says i differ from the platform. here is a president that says that plank is what i stand for, so i as president of the united states is going to etch radio down and say you need to change us and fix us and it may be ugly, sloppy, but we'll get to the ride end. that's the difference between this president. he knew it would be something we would be talking about and he said this is a consistent part of the democratic platform and in fact it is a consistent part of the republican platform that we affirm jerusalem and faithful people which is already there. >> mr. mayor, how was it taken out? how did it happen? >> again, you know what, i have to say sometimes as badad as i might seem, there is imperfections. there is mistakes made. >> major oversight. >> it would be a major oversight if this was not something that the platform of the democratic party has affirmed time and time again and the president himself has affirmed time and time again. >> that's why it is oversight. >> i don't think that's right. i don't know how it was changed but athe kro of democrats argue
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the united states embassy is not in jerusalem. our president has not decided to put the embassy in jerusalem, it is in tel aviv and this is putting it more in line with u.s. foreign policy. why weren't the people that changed the plarm form to play devil's advocate, why weren't they right? >> all i can tell you is this. i am the co-chair of the platform. i was in the mix. this is not somebody that changed the platform. it was an omission and unfortunate. you are saying this and i am telling you now, let's not create a partisan issue out of a non-partisan issue. >> we're just wondering how it happened. >> bush, clinton, bush one, go back in the presidents. we have had the same policy switching from republican to democrat. i sat with leaders of a pack this week. there is a union nim at this and position on complicated issues dealing with israel, complicated painful issues and here we have what is an omission and happened many times before and i have
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seen it in my state legislature on both sides. i have seen it in congress on both sides. here we have a simple omission that was corrected by the democratic party becoming something we're talking about on a morning talk show which to me is a little bit over the top. what we should be spending our focus on is talking about the substantive differences between our platforms, one saying if a victim is raped can't get an abortion and hey we're in line with where america is. >> that will not final word. we have to let you go. we have a whole morning of stuff to do. have to take a short break. still ahead you saw president obama making the surprise visit at the dnc to watch the former president bill clinton's speech so how did the president grade the former president? stephanie cutter will join us live next for a look at that. you're watching "starting point" live from the cnn grill in charlotte, north carolina. back in just a moment.
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visit us online to learn what makes our bank so different. market check, u.s. stock futures are higher right now. european markets are also up. the big meeting of the european central bank under way in frankfurt right now. huge pressure on the ecb president mario draghi. some call him super mario, to announce more stimulus for the european union countries struggling through debt problems. football fans, the cost of tailgate and halftime munchies got more expensive. all prices are already rising bought of the drought in the midwest. the price for chicken wings, almost double what it was last year. double just in time for football season. >> yes, it is terrible, terrible news, christine. i don't know what i will do. thanks. appreciate that. thanks for the update.
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four years ago democrats nominated barack obama, put him on the pathway to the white house. tonight he will accept the bid once again while making his case for another four years. of course he follows the former president bill clinton's rousing speech. here is a little bit of that. >> i want to nominate a man who is cool on the outside but who burns for america on the inside. >> stephanie cut certificater i manager of the obama campaign. nice to have you in person. what did president obama think of president clinton's speech? >> he thought it was amazing. he loved it. it was an honest testament to the types of things we need to do as a country if we want to move our country forward and grow our economy. >> it was interesting. i think it was earlier this morning, maybe john berman playing offense and defense and tough and deflects criticism and
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kind of laying out a white board case without the white board and let's play what president clinton said last night. >> no president, not me, not any of my predecessors, no one could have fully repaired all of the damage that he found in just four years. he has laid the foundation for a new, modern, successful economy, a shared prosperity. if you will renew the president's contract, you will feel it. you will feel it. >> that you think which right there i thought was the essential point, that he wasn't able to do all he could do because if you give him four years he will run with the ball. for the people that will decide this election, is that enough? >> i think it is. let me tell you why. i think there is broad
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recognition in this country that the economy the president inherited was the worst economy in our lifetime, since the great depression and what bill clinton said last night is republicans are trying to make the argument you should fire barack obama because he didn't clean up their mess fast enough. that's absolutely true. we didn't get into this mess over night. we're not going to get out of it over night. what president obama did quickly, he moved boldly and swiftly to ensure that the economy stopped being in a free fall and started putting the building blocks together to build an economy to last where the middle class is at its core and we have made progress. we were losing 800,000 jobs a month and now created 4.5 million jobs over the last 29 months, so we're making progress, and elections are about choices and i think the other thing that you heard president clinton talk about is we have a choicer hoo. we know what to do because we have done it. this is exactly what president obama is trying to do. let's continue moving forward and build this economy meant to last where everybody can get ahead or the other side is saying, hey, let's go back and
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double down on trickle down economics and see what that's going to bring us. we know what that's going to bring us. it crashed our economy. why would we want to go back there? that is essentially the argument do, we move forward to building this skme economy we know we can build or go back to the same policy that is punish the middle class and crashed the economy? >> you're right. i think americans understand that president obama didn't create the bad economy, that he has a convincing argument he has ton as much as he can and any president could do. one thing president clinton did do is talk about the diddet and talk about the spending. if x it hit 16 trillion this week. the spending, as much as the programs have cost they added to the debt and deficit and this is one of the things the republicans have tackled substantively and i wonder if
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president obama will tackle that. >> i don't think republicans have tackled that substantively. >> he wanted to do entitlement reform before president and it didn't happen. >> i am not sure where to start. let me try. you know, the president commissioned simpson-bowles because congress wouldn't act. it was a good process. they came out with a set of recommendations. the president put his own plan on the table that reflected much of the balance in the simpson-bowles recommendations. a year ago we were in discussions with how republicans including paul ryan to see if we could put a bipartisan deal together. when we call the grand bargain, to reduce the deficit by more than $4 trillion and make very tough decisions about entitlements. the president was willing to make some of those tough decisions. it would have been politically and unpopular to do so but he was willing to do it. ultimately the deal fell apart for two reasons. one, republicans wouldn't give an inch on tax and, number two,
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paul ryan said if we give obama this deal it will guarantee his re-election. we have talked about debt and deficits. the president talks about it on the campaign trail all the time. he is the only one in this race that has a detailed deficit reduction plan on the table that actually makes sense. >> and what about the answer to margaret's question which is looking forward, what is the president going to actually say tonight to give any new details on this issue or anything else? >> i think you will hear him talk about the types much decisions we need to make as a country if we want to get our debt under control and do it in a way that will unleash growth and help the middle class grow. that's what bill clinton did and what he was talking about, that we need the math to add up. certainly putting a $5 trillion tax cut on the table and not telling anybody how he will pay for it, that math doesn't add up. i think you will hear the president layout his plan of balanced deficit reduction where everybody pays their fair share and we cut what we don't need and includes entitlement reform and it is a path forward, and i think that we're looking forward
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to it. >> everybody else is looking forward, too, to the president's speech tonight. thanks, stephanie cutter, nice to have you with us. i i had pain in my abdomen...g. it just wouldn't go away. i was spotting, but i had already gone through menopause. these symptoms may be nothing... but they could be early warning signs of a gynecologic cancer, such as cervical, ovarian, or uterine cancer. feeling bloated for no reason. that's what i remember. seeing my doctor probably saved my life. warning signs are not the same for everyone. if you think something's wrong... see your doctor. ask about gynecologic cancer.
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and get the inside knowledge.
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earlier in the night after cal penn told tweeters to use the hashtag sex efface when talking about his speech, it got weird when bill clinton is like there goes the first line of my speech. >> still ahead this morning on "starting point," star power takes over in char will the. florida is here and fresh off his speech senator chuck schumer will talk to us as well.
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we're coming to you live from the cnn grill in charlotte, north carolina. nice to see you. have a seat. ly? you just missed an awesome dance off between the dads. oh... wow! (laughing) you just missed the cake fight. seriously? everyone's taking pictures like they're paparazzi. are we missing that? we're not, check it out. aww, yeah, haha. excuse me. vo: get all your friends' photos automatically with share shot on the galaxy s3. hey! first dance! are you kidding me???
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welcome back to the cnn grill here in charlotte, north carolina. tonight president obama will accept the democratic party's nomination for president with a highly anticipated speech. last night the former president bill clinton delivered a stirring endorsement calling for another four years. new york senator chuck schumer was in the crowd and spoke last night. nice to see you. you said that you thought bill clinton hit it out of the park. >> he hit it out of the park. if every american watched that speech the election would be over, and he perfectly teed it up for the president with all of this talk. you had michelle obama talking about what the president believes in and who he cares about. president clinton explained the past. now it is just ready for barack obama to explain what he will do in the future. if this convention has a rhythm,
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it has a direction, it has an excitement. i think it is great, and i think i can't predict whether there will be a big bounce after it, but i would bet the predicate for a gradual ascension of the democratic ticket in november. >> every american did not watch it, though. >> unfortunately. >> my question would be do they take what bill clinton did in some ways sort of prof sorrial. >> the scene, and you go to black churches and they go preach, baby, preach, to the minister. this is teach, baby, teach. he was teaching america. >> does he take that on the road literally with a white board and says you have heard about medicare. here. >> i talked to him. >> here is the facts, here is what's really going on. >> i talked to the president before the speech for quite a bit, and first he put a lot of effort into it. it sounded like he was talking to the average person. he was. he spends a lot of time figuring out what's the best way to say it. he did it well. he also intends to take that message and spend a lot of time
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in october campaigning both for the president and for some of our democratic senators. >> he will literally take it on the road. >> i think he will. that's how he works. he will refine it. by october 20th it will have somewhat slightly different twists and turns but the same basis. >> is that risky for president obama? >> no. president clinton is again helping the ticket. no one does it better. no one can take an issue and explain to the average voter why it matters to him or her. >> president clinton isn't on the ticket. >> it doesn't matter. he is augmenting the ticket and, listen, if president obama were a poor speaker f president obama didn't have much presence, but he is a strong man, and president obama's job more than any most important job of all which is the republicans didn't do is layout why he is going to make middle class lives better. what bill clinton did is cover his flank and explain what happened in the past. >> on that, you spend a lot of time in your political career
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studying polls and trying to figure out how you to get democrats elected and appeal to independents of the base. who do you think he appeals to? what's the goal? is it democrats or independents? >> bill clinton, he appeals across the board. he appeals to working families. he appeals in a particular way and reaches them of the kind of voter we need which is sort of undecided voter, the kind of voter who generally doesn't have a college degree, who votes, who l tos these things, but not as intimately as any of us would. >> the kind of voter who is a swing voter right now. that kind of voter has a natural aversion to mitt romney and who he is and what he stands for. he is not sure after the last four years that democrats will do the job. bill clinton and barack obama in combination can close that deal. >> we know that voter, they paint a portrait that far voter which is 35 and under, equally divided, male and female, non-college. >> and by the way that voter,
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particularly the women of that group, they will probably decide this election and no one talks to them better than william jefferson clinton. >> you keep saying that. as a democratic leader do you ever look and speak and say we as a party have failed? none of us in the party can make the case like bill clinton in the last three and a half years of communication and you haven't communicated well. >> that's saying every math me tigs failed because he is not albert einstein. he is the best. >> an indictment of the democrats over the last three and a half years and their ability to communicate to the public? >> the president spent the first couple of years pretty much on that inside game, in other words, sitting down with republicans and democrats and i was one of them, and saying let's come together in all of that. what he didn't realize is just what bill clinton said. from day one, quote mitch mcnl
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ko, our job was to beat the president. when there were things they put on the floor that republicans voted for under george bush, they voted no. their job was to obstruct. they say you created a huge mess, tried to stop us from fixing the many he is and now you say put us back in. >> let's talk about platform. what's the fall out, god and jerusalem as the capital and it was a two-thirds vote and from a dance it didn't sound like two-thirds. it was interesting arithmetic certainly. >> on the jerusalem issue that i have had involvement in and did yesterday, it has always been the position of the democratic party, of the democrats overwhelmingly that jerusalem is the capital of israel. why it wasn't in the platform, i don't know, but when i brought it to the white house's attention, the president intervened and said put it in.
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it was in the 2008 platform. the bottom line -- >> so you saw sounds like you were blindsided this wasn't in there. >> i didn't know. i don't read to be honest with you the whole huge document, but i know basically what our party stands for. >> you saw that it wasn't in and you were one of those -- >> yes, i spoke to a number of people. >> does this mean -- >> it was the president who intervened and said fix it. this idea that he waivers on this issue or whatever, why it was left out, who knows. it is a huge document. >> does this mean in a second term he will move our embassy from tel aviv to jerusalem. >> every president stood for it -- >> a second term. >> here is the issue t usually should be part -- our position is to do that. our position also and also in the platform, and was in 2008, it should be negotiated between the parties. truth be told, if you ask the government of israel whether it is this government or previous
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governments, what are your top five priorities, that's not one of them. >> i agree with you on that but it doesn't seem or feel believable that this was accidently left out, an oversight that people noticed at the last minute and then the president got involved. it feels like there are much lower ranks within the democratic party establishment that should have caught this sooner. >> perhaps. >> if it really was a mistake. >> perhaps. i would say this to you. the two biggest threats to israel, are a nuclear iran and secondarily heil secondary. on those two issues the president has been great. he has been tougher on iran than anyone, and you talk to netanyahu and the iron dome and we have done more for them with
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iron dome far and away any administration and the israelis are quite confident or much more confident now they can block those hezballah rockets. >> nice to have you. thank you very much. ahead on "starting point," you may have danced along and sang along with some of his music here at the dnc rapper flo rida is promoting a serious cause and will join us next and fell us how he is ep hadding veteran. back right after this. we can st- 8% every 10 years. wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor? it's the amino acid metabolite, hmb to help rebuild muscle and strength naturally lost over time. [ female announcer ] ensure muscle health has revigor and protein to help protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. keeps you from getting soft. [ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge! exclusive to the military, and commitment is not limited to one's military oath.
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♪ ♪ >> you know, i whistled on this. i am kidding of course. welcome back. watching "starting point." i could have retired right about now. here at the dnc in charlotte, north carolina, you were listening you were listening to flo rida's song. here at the convention, he is using his superstar status for a good cause, per forming last night to promote the got your 6 initiative, a campaign announced by the first lady to help america's veterans reintegrate into civilian life after they come home from deployment. flo rida is with us this morning. nice to see you. >> nice to see you as well. >> tell me about the concert last night. >> it was amazing. i went out in the crowd. people came up onstage. just having success back on the charts. i mean, definitely, on the balcony, i held up the mic for the fans to sing, and it was a
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great uproar. a lot of people don't get a chance to see me perform at that level unless i'm overseas. but coming back home in the states, it was just amazing. >> ryan and i have gone to other parties with a lot of policy wonks. it doesn't seem to be the same. let's talk a little bit about got your 6. what is that? >> it's basically got your back. when it comes to the military, i'm strongly behind it. i had neighbors in the military. veterans. i had four uncles that were a part of the military. any time it comes to supporting our troops or veterans, i'm 1,000% behind it. >> what does got your 6 do? what do these veterans need? >> for the most part, you know, definitely they need someone that, you know, loves them because a lot of them might come back wounded. not just physically, but mentally. and they need some people that, you know, love and support them and just don't forget about them. >> you also have been outspoken about getting folks to come to
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the polls. >> yes, most definitely. >> are you political? are you a political person? >> yes. i feel like we have a responsibility, you know, as far as going out and being an american and placing your vote. that definitely is a private matter. so i haven't actually chose who i'm going to vote for. but i'm going to go in that booth. if you are going to vote, make sure you stand behind the person you're voting for. >> there's been a lot of talk over the past four years that the president hasn't reached out enough to his own community, to the african-american community. and that that is going to hurt the african-american vote for him. what do you think about that? >> i think he's done a great job. you know, definitely kudos to barack obama for his swag, you know. but i think -- >> he don't poll on that. we have not done the swag poll at cnn here. but what's interesting, i think the issue will be getting out the youth vote. >> i'm definitely doing my job as an artist. like i said before, i realize i
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have a responsibility. and just being in high school, i couldn't wait until i had a chance to be able to vote. i started my own youth football league. and i'm telling the kids, you know, it's one thing to just sit back and not take advantage of voting, you know, but actually going out to vote is very important. >> in florida, of course, a critical swing state. >> did you say you aren't sure who you're going to vote for? >> i think he said he wasn't going to tell you. >> you might vote for romney? >> i think it's a private matter, and i think that's the problem. a lot of times people feel like if they say the wrong thing, something might happen or they won't get as much love. but go out and vote, because you don't have to let people know your decision right off. >> and that means you, ryan. he's not telling you. >> but i think your work is especially important, because there are lots of efforts going on in lots of states right now to actually limit people's ability to go out and vote. you heard the governor of pennsylvania, republican
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governor of pennsylvania, say they wanted to pass restrictions on people's ability to vote so that they can elect mitt romney. and what you're saying is that this is a democracy. we want to encourage everybody to get out the vote. and the final thing i want to say is that my 16-year-old is going to be a lot more impressed that i met with you than a lot of the politicians around here. i can tell you that much. >> i'm honored. >> oh, i don't believe that, sir. what? nice to have you, flo rida. >> thanks for having me. >> anytime you want to come and join us. >> appreciate you guys. and a shout out to all of my family. they were very excited me being on cnn. "starting point" is back in a moment. stay with us. and is. [ engines revving ] because control is the ultimate expression of power. [ revving continues ] ♪ during the golden opportunity sales event, get great values on some of our newest models.
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ahead this morning on "starting point," former president bill clinton gave a fiery nominating speech last night, rousing democrats and maybe even some republicans. coming up, virginia governor bob mcdonnell sits down with us to tell us what he thought about that speech. also ahead, you know that president obama loves basketball. now he is teaming up with nba superstar dwyane wade for a cause off the court. we'll talk to dwyane wade straight ahead. we're coming to you live from charlotte, north carolina. we're back right after this short break. >> how effortlessly diverse is the democratic party? remember the folks at the rnc
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welcome back. you're watching "starting point." bill clinton makes the case for president obama. listen. >> their number one priority was not to put america back to work. it was to put the president out of work. i hate to break it to you. but we're going to keep president obama on the job. >> the former president's charisma and eloquence on display. did he hit the mark? also, how republicans are rebutting this morning. tonight, the culmination of the democratic national convention,
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president obama will get his opportunity to tell the american people why they should give him four more years. what he needs to accomplish with his speech last night. and a last-minute change to the democrats' platform to add a mention of god and declare jerusalem the capital of israel after president obama intervened. we'll see what really happened. we'll ask debbie wasserman schultz who will be our guest. also joining us this morning, senator dick durbin. governor bob mcdonnell. dwyane wade, who is taking up one of the president's causes, and we'll chat with black eyed pea frontman will.i.am. "starting point" begins right now. welcome, welcome, welcome, everybody. let's introduce you to our team. dana bash is with you. cnn congressional senior correspondent. chris van hollen is with us. nice to have you in person. michael crowley, deputy washington bureau chief of
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"time" magazine. i think we met yesterday for the first time in person. >> it was very exciting, yes. >> and our "starting point" this morning, of course, is the speech from last night. rousing endorsement of his economic policies, bill clinton really teed it up for president obama's convention closing speech. so tonight, mr. obama will make his own case for a second term in office. but last night, the former president rocked the convention hall. a speech that was vintage clinton. fiery. and kind of long. dana bash was there. many say home run. >> well, certainly that is what the obama campaign thinks. he definitely gave a long speech. and he did a lot of ad libbing, but he didn't do any free lansing when it came to the message. and that is why the obama campaign is thrilled this morning. this is the lasting image of the evening, an embrace just four years ago few could imagine. but the former president made clear bitterness over the bruising battle between his wife
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and obama is ancient history, repeatedly making the case for four more years as only bill clinton can. >> if you want a winner take all, you're on your own society, you should support the republican ticket. but if you want a country of shared opportunities and shared responsibility, we're all in this together society, you should vote for barack obama and joe biden. >> reporter: the man who could famously feel your pain vouched for obama's empathy. >> i want to nominate a man who's cool on the outside but who burns for america on the inside. >> reporter: he eagerly reminded people he presided over historic economic prosperity as he pushed back on gop arguments that obama could have done more. >> no president, not me, not any of my predecessors, no one,
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could have fully repaired all of the damage that he found in just four years. but he has laid the foundations for a new modern successful economy. a shared prosperity. and if you will renew the president's contract, you will feel it. >> reporter: and he tore apart the romney economic plan. >> we simply cannot afford to give the reins of government to someone who will double down on trickle down. >> reporter: clinton was not alone in primetime. the democrats chose two female speakers.
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elizabeth warren. >> the system is rigged. look around. oil companies guzzle down billions in profits. billionaires pay lower tax rates than their secretaries. >> reporter: a strong finish for an evening that started out rough. a day earlier, democrats approved a party platform that removed the word "god" and dropped the goal of jerusalem as israel's capital. >> permit an attempt to the platform. >> reporter: after what sources say was a private revolt, party leaders decided to fix it, which caused a flash of embarrassing chaos. >> all those in favor of suspending the rules, say aye. all those opposed, say no. >> reporter: the los angeles mayor and convention chair took the vote three times until finally declaring the change is approved. >> i'll do that one more time. all those delegates in favor say aye.
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all those delegates opposed say no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 have voted in the affirmative. the motion is adopted. and the platform has been amended as shown on the screen. >> and that was an unscripted moment of drama. not one the democrats had hoped for. but they are definitely happy that bill clinton overshadowed that and pretty much everything else yesterday in his speech. and i just want to show our viewers one thing we just got in, and that is a photo of where his wife was watching his speech. she was traveling for her day job, which of course is secretary of state, and i believe we have a photo from the state department. and there you go. east timor. look at that smile, watching her husband. it must be an odd thing to watch from east timor. but someone like hillary clinton is probably used to doing that. >> probably does that all the time. and as we mentioned, his speech
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was long. 48 minutes, 30 seconds long. and the last one he got criticism for for being long was shorter than that. >> it was 15 minutes longer than the one everybody said was rambling and at the time a career ender for him when he was a no-name governor. i guess it depends on where you sit, who you are, and what you're saying. >> remember those texts from hillary we were talking about? you saw a moment ago of the real picture of her watching her husband. there is a photo on facebook that's hilarious. originally was on buzz feed. the tumblr blog is still up. there it is. wrap it up. >> it's like the producers in our ears. >> exactly, wrap it up, bill. we're getting on 48 minutes here. it's time for everybody to go. i guess apparently the hash tag hillary 2013 was the top trender
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during her husband's speech. she was in east timor but obviously watching it. coming up, we'll talk more about the political confusion on the floor with the changes to the democrats' platform. debbie wasserman schultz who said, confusion? what confusion? what are you talking about? we'll discuss that with her this morning. she of course is the democratic national committee chair. first, news to get to. christine has that for us. hurricane leslie is on course now with bermuda. officials there are urging residents to prepare for the worst. right now, leslie is a very slow-moving category 1 storm but could become a category 2 hurricane by tomorrow. hurricane michael is now the first major hurricane this season that's a category 3 in the mid north atlantic. category 3. it's not a threat, though, to land. a 13-mile stretch of louisiana beaches remains closed this morning as sheens of oil and tar balls keep washing ashore in the aftermath of hurricane isaac. the coast guard reports finding three oiled birds, and locals
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say they can't afford another financial hit so soon after the 2010 bp oil spill. >> we can overcome a hurricane. but to deal with all of this on top of it is really hurting us. >> bp officials say they are heading to the area to test the tar balls to determine whether they came from the deep water horizon spill. the company says it's prepared to help clean up the mess, either way. we now know who bought a once lost recording of martin luther king jr. and where it's going to be kept. >> truly nonviolent. that person has a loving spirit. >> superstar illusionist david copperfield bought the rare view. he says he's donating the reel to reel tape to the lorraine motel, the site where he was slain. the tape was discovered in the attic of a home in tennessee. remarkable quality of the tape. copperfield won't say how much
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he paid for it, but certainly it's a piece of history. he bought it, and it will be in that museum. soledad? >> i'm so happy it's going to go there. i spent a lot of time at that museum. they have an amazing collection for people who haven't had a chance to go. they should go. but to have it there, it's a perfect spot. great for him to do. appreciate it. back to our top story, we want to bring in senator dick durbin, second highest ranking democrat in the senate. >> good to be here. >> give me an assessment of the speech last night. >> bill clinton always hits it out of the park. it was a shorter speech than usual, only 50 minutes. gene sperling, i saw him afterwards, and he said i spent 10 hours with him. i cut that speech in half. he put it all back in. just can't stop him. >> the issue, of course, is the undecideds. and some people have said the undecideds are a small sliver, 4% to 10%, something like that. did what he say last night really connect to those people, who will really decide the election? >> that was his focus.
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if nothing else, he has so many good qualities, bill clinton is a great teacher. he was kind of telling the class, now listen to this part. this is the important part. this is going to be on the final. >> it was like a power point without the power point. >> this will be on the final. check this out. and he walked right through each and every major issue, analyzed it in simple terms, even a politician could follow, and folks at home, if they're interested in that explanation, nobody did it better. >> michael crowley, if they're interested is kind of the key phrase in that. i mean, did this connect to those folks? we know who they are sort of, 35 and under, equally divided, male, female, white, probably no college education is sort of what we know about this particular voter. did that speech make a difference to them? >> it's always hard to say, you know, you kind of practicing black magic trying to imagine whether a speech connected with people at home. but i would say we do know, first of all, if people are tuned in and watching, they are probably interested. probably looking for answers. there are partisans looking for fun, and they want to get fired
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up. but there's a second level of viewers who want to understand what's happening. i think the senator put his finger on it, which is that independent voters really want to hear about cooperation and solutions in washington. and i thought that the sign that president clinton was speaking to that audience was the emphasis he put on that. if you look at the polling, it will say voters in the middle, they don't want to hear about fights. they don't want to hear insults. they want to hear how you can come together and get it done. and the emphasis on that to me was saying i'm talking to the people in the middle, independents, and plenty of red meat for the base. we saw elizabeth warren, for instance, i thought a real, you know, fired up ready to go kind of speech. but i think clinton was trying to give a little bit of a lesson to people to explain, this is how it works. the line i loved is when he said, here are the facts. you be the judge. and i just thought it's such a savvy technique to say, when you're presenting facts in support of your argument but saying to people, i'm going to let you judge the facts for yourself. of course, he is presenting a favorable argument for his case. >> you think?
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>> but he sets it up as if to say, you make up your own mind. >> let's talk about republicans. john sununu apparently was on a call with reporters, and this is what he said talking about what the future for the gop is going to be now once this convention ends. if i had to give you my own personal technical term for what they are going to do, said john sununu, romney campaign surrogate, they are going to carpet bomb them. that's what he says is coming up next. how worried should the democrats be about that strategy, the gop carpet bombing them? >> what's different about that? i mean, the super pacs. we have 17 angry old white men pouring in millions of dollars. carpet bombing every candidate in sight. they spent $16 million already in negative ads in ohio. he is lucky to have $6 million when it's said and done. they have laid out the carpet bombs and he is still standing and strong. the point i'm getting to is this is nothing new. but i do want to go back to the point that you made.
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david moranis called in this morning from "the new york times" the horse whisperer. bill clinton last night. but when he talked about i disagreed with the republicans but i don't hate them. there's so much hate coming out from the other side. i think that turns off independent voters more than anything. they know we disagree. they expect us to find some common ground. >> you think the hate turns them off? >> the hate does, and the carpet bombs with negative ads. people just say finally, enough. i remember when jon corzine told me after he was first elected to the senate, he spent $65 million to get there. and he said, if that campaign had gone on for two more weeks, i would have lost. overwhelmed his opponent, but people reached the point where they said, we're sick of it. there is just too much of it. you've overdone it. >> what does president obama have to do tonight? in a way, tough act to follow. >> there will be a lot of love in that arena for the president tonight. michelle set it up. bill clinton explained it. this president is going to deliver it. >> you're going to have to do something, right? >> well, i'll be on the program. a few minutes before he speaks.
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maybe slightly different introduction. but, you know, he's had good luck. i introduced him in boston. not too bad. i introduced him when he announced his candidacy in springfield. and i introduced him in denver. things turned out pretty well. >> you're his good luck charm? >> that's what he's saying, yes. >> that's my role. >> senator, nice to have you. >> thanks, soledad. short break. still ahead this morning, nba superstar dwyane wade is teaming up with president obama for a special cause. mr. wade will join us live up next to explain. you're watching "starting point." we're coming to you from charlotte, north carolina. and there he is, nice to see you. sorry we're not in new york with you this morning. we're back in a moment. for me. she said i had to go to the doctor. turned out i had uterine cancer, a type of gynecologic cancer. i received treatment and we're confident i'll be fine. please listen to your body. if something doesn't feel right for two weeks or longer,
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for fastidious librarian what's emily skinner, each day was fueled by thorough preparation for events to come. well somewhere along the way, emily went right on living. but you see, with the help of her raymond james financial advisor, she had planned for every eventuality. ...which meant she continued to have the means to live on... ...even at the ripe old age of 187. life well planned. see what a raymond james advisor can do for you. welcome to "starting point," coming to you live from charlotte, north carolina. president obama is going to accept his party's nomination tonight. a key theme that he's touched upon during his presidency is the importance of fatherhood.
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something our next guest agrees with. you know him as an nba superstar, two-time championship winner, former mvp. but the miami heat's dwyane wade says his most important title is dad. he is the father of two little boys, a 5-year-old and a 10-year-old. he talks about fatherhood in his new book called "a father first." and dwyane is joining us live from new york, where i'm not this morning. i'm in charlotte. nice to have you. congratulations on the book. tell me a bit about why fatherhood has been such an important title for you, especially when you consider sort of all of the incredible accolades and things you've accomplished on the sports side. you constantly tell people, dad is what matters to me. why? >> first of all, thank you. i just feel that being a father, being a parent, in itself is the greatest gift that we are given. and it's so important to me. i feel like since i was a kid, i have always wanted to be a great dad. i have been waiting my whole life to be a great dad. so to have the opportunity to be that role model to them at home,
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it's an unbelievable challenge. but it's so rewarding and so fulfilling that nothing feels better. >> you know, you talk a lot about your childhood in you're your book. you were raised on the south side of chicago. you had a tough upbringing. your mom on drugs for a lot of your childhood. i know she's clean now. how do you -- what advice do you give other men? and maybe even just women too, for parenting, about how to be a great parent in spite of some serious adversity? >> well, i think the first thing i let them know is i don't have all the answers. and that i'm continuing to learn myself. i think the biggest thing that we have to learn as parents is that just as much as our kids learn from us, that we learn from them. every day, they are teaching me how to be a parent, how to be a father. and so we have to be open minded. and i have learned that i don't have all the answers at all. but i think the biggest thing i always try to come across and when my mother always told me,
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no matter what, always tell your kids how much you love them. how great they are. you don't want them to search for it from someone else. they need to know it at home first. so i'm just excited that i have the opportunity every day now to be able to tell them that. and the little things is what really matters. >> you were involved in a very bitter and very ugly custody dispute with your now ex-wife. i think it was the longest custody trial in the history of cook county. what it was like to go through that? and what did you get out of it that taught you something about being a father? it ended i should say in your favor. you got full custody of your boys. >> yeah, it was tough to go through something so personal in a public eye. and to be so many things to come out, you know, maybe some being truth, maybe a lot being not the truth, and having to deal with the public perception of what real and what's not. but at the end of the day, i focused on my kids. i never really put myself in front of them or in front of the situation. i didn't make myself the most
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important person involved in the whole custody battle. i can sleep easy at night knowing that my actions and everything i did was about doing what's best for my kids. and it's unfortunate that our relationship didn't work out. but, you know, what was important for me is that we still became and still were great parents to our kids. and they shouldn't suffer because of our relationship failure. so that's what i try to continue to do. >> dwyane wade, the new book is called "a father first: how my life became bigger than basketball." i'm sorry i'm not there in person with you, but great to have you with us. always great to see you. >> great to see you too. still ahead on "starting point," god and israel. well, forget the harmony on the floor yesterday. the democratic national convention committee chairwoman debbie wasserman schultz will join us to talk about what happened yesterday over the controversy over the changes to the democrats' platform. a short break. and we're back in just a moment from charlotte, north carolina.
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still ahead this morning on "starting point," convention chaos. democrats at odds over adding back in the word "god" and recognizing jerusalem in the platform. why the discord? plus, former president bill clintons the republicans left america in a mess. that's a quote, back in 2008. we'll see what the gop thinks. up next, virginia governor bob mcdonnell will give us his take on president clinton's speech from last night. you're watching "starting point" live from charlotte, north carolina. back in just a moment. capella university understands businesses are trying to come
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welcome back, everybody. you're watching "starting
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point." we're live covering the final night of the democratic national convention here in charlotte, north carolina, where president barack obama is going to accept the nomination for a second term tonight. he follows a powerful endorsement from president bill clinton, who told americans they're better off now than they were four years ago. here's what he said. >> when president barack obama took office, the economy was in freefall. it had just shrunk nine full percent of gdp. we were losing 750,000 jobs a month. are we doing better than that today? the answer is yes. >> virginia governor bob mcdonnell is a mitt romney supporter joining us this morning. nice to see you, sir. >> hi, soledad. >> nice to have you in person. what did you think of that speech? >> very few people can deliver a speech like bill clinton. it was very well done. very different than bill clinton four years ago when he was harshly critical of president obama or then candidate obama's ability to be president. but at the end of the day,
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speeches don't create jobs. good policies do. and this week, while all these good speeches are going on here, we've got the highest gas prices ever for a labor day on monday. tuesday, we come out with the debt numbers. $16 trillion in debt. that's $200,000 per family of four. and after the president is going to deliver a great speech tonight, i'm sure it will be one of the best we've ever heard, we'll wake up tomorrow morning with a job report that will show 43 months over 8%. so the bottom line is speeches make you feel good, but at the end of the day the american people don't think we're better off than four years ago, and they are going to want to change. >> speeches can motivate people to vote and lay out an agenda. what you saw last night is here is what we are here to believe, and we are here to protect the middle class. they -- >> i know who they meant. >> everybody knew who they meant. isn'ting th that going to be especially delivered by someone like bill clinton who has a high approval number, that both candidates would love to have, isn't that a problem for the
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gop? >> no. listen, we had good speeches last week. i thought ann romney was good. mitt was good. paul ryan was good. they are going to have great speeches. again, i'm expecting a very good speech tonight from president obama. but at the end of the day, people are hurting right now. and they don't want plat tuds. they want leadership. we have a surplus of rhetoric and a deficit of action right now. minorities, college students who supported the president in a big way, have done the worst in the obama economy. this is the worst recovery we've ever had since the great recession -- great depression. people don't want to hear plat tuds. it's results that matter. >> what bill clinton was saying, we started off in a terrible place. the current president started off in a much worse place -- >> we did. and he made it worse. that's the problem. >> bill clinton says he has not made it worse, he is on a great path.
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people should stick on the path. >> bill clinton tried to put some sugar on it, but the bottom line is he knows, his rhetoric about we're having a good energy policy and we're better off than four years ago, people aren't buying that. >> someone said it was a mistake. redstate.com. bill clinton asked the crowd if they were better off, and they said, yes, that's not wise. romney campaign groups are going to use that, the democrats trying to paint the rnc as out of touch or denying reality. >> anywhere from 52% to 72% of the people in the recent polls say we're on the wrong track and not better off than four years ago. they can say it all they want, but it's just not true. it doesn't resonate with people. a the end of day, they not they are having a harder time getting a job. gas prices have doubled. incomes are down $6,000. and this crushing unemployment rate. every month in the obama
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presidency over 8%. >> the democrats are saying it's been in positive territory, they were handed an economy that was imploding. as i like to tell people, i remember going to the gym and i had to stop to watch what the dow was doing was horrific. it was horrible. >> no question about it. he did not create the problem. he just doesn't have a plan to get us out. i think he's made it worse. if you look at any data, from gas, cost of living -- >> well, that's not true. not any measure. >> well, the big numbers that people will vote on. >> the stock market is a big number. i would say it's a mixed bag. it's a very much mixed bag. which element of it is going to resonate with the voter is kind of the $64,000 question. >> i agree with you. and here is the question. which candidate has got the best ideas to get america out of debt and back to work? i think that's what this is all about. and if you look at unemployment, 8% unemployment, every month of the obama presidency, we have never had a chronic four years like this. $200,000 of debt per american
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family of four. $16 trillion. that's just unacceptable. and so i said that mitt romney has got a plan. it will be compared to barack obama's record. i think bill clinton -- i mean, president obama would love to have a record to run on like bill clinton. >> everybody would love to have it bill clinton's approval numbers and a record that bill clinton had. >> but here is the difference. when mitt romney was the governor of massachusetts, unemployment went down. deficits went down. the credit rating went up. just the opposite of president obama as the president of the united states. bill clinton gave a good speech and had a record to run on in 1996. president obama doesn't. he has a lousy record, so it's all about speeches and rhetoric. we'll hear a great speech tonight. tomorrow morning, 8% unemployment. the independent voter will say i want to change. >> governor bob mcdonnell, thank you. >> thank you. we have new jobs numbers just in. christine, good morning. >> good morning to you. this just in to "starting point." 365,000 unemployment claims were filed for the first time last
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week. that's down 12,000 from the week before. that's according to the labor department. this is a positive surprise before what is expected to be an aneemic jobs report tomorrow. economists think the economy grew by 120,000 new jobs in august. in honor of the are you better off than four years ago storyline of the week, let's flash back to four years ago. in september of 2008, lehman collapsed and the economy was shrinking at a rate of 3.7%. in that month, the economy lost 432,000 jobs. soledad? >> all right, christine. thank you very much. still ahead this morning on "starting point," the 2012 democratic platform has not gotten a lot of attention until now, and not because of what was in it, but because of what it was missing. the lack of a reference to god, omitting jerusalem as the capital of israel. next we'll check in with debbie wasserman schultz about the political blunder. you're watching "starting point." we're coming to you live from charlotte, north carolina. back in just a moment. good morning. how are you?
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i'll have more awkward conversations than i'm equipped for because i'm raising two girls on my own. i'll worry about the economy more than a few times before they're grown. but it's for them, so i've found a way. who matters most to you says the most about you. massmutual is owned by our policyholders so they matter most to us. massmutual. we'll help you get there.
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welcome back to "starting point." tonight, president obama is going to accept his party's nomination. but democrats hit a snag on the
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floor yesterday. they amended their party platform, reinserting their language on god and israel that was in the 2008 platform but not in this year's platform. they had to vote three times by voice, with many delegates yelling no at each attempt. here's how it sounded. >> all those delegates in favor say aye. all those delegates opposed say no. >> no! >> in the opinion of the -- let me do that again. all of those delegates in favor say aye. >> aye! >> all those delegates opposed, say no. >> no! >> i'll do that one more time. all those delegates in favor, say aye. >> aye! >> all those delegates opposed, say no. >> no! >> in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 have voted in the affirmative. the motion is adopted. >> joining us this morning,
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democratic congresswoman debbie wasserman schultz, from florida. she heads the democratic national committee. what happened? explain that whole thing to me. that was a bit of a mess yesterday. the platform in 2008 had "god" and jerusalem as the capital of israel. it was out in 2012. why? >> well, here's what happened. on tuesday, we adopted a 100% strongly pro israel platform that i was so proud to support. does, soledad, i'm the first jewish woman to represent israel in congress. i was proud of our platform already. it has stronger language than the republican platform in supporting a nuclear free iran. and the president said my personal view is that jerusalem is and always will remain the capital of israel. and that was the language we had in 2008. and he felt that the platform should reflect his personal view. >> why was it out? there was a change from 2008 to 2012 where the word "god" was
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missing and the capital of jerusalem was missing. >> essentially with jerusalem, it was a technical omission. and nothing more than that. there was not any -- through the drafting process and the platform committee process, there was never any discussion or debate or commentary over adding or subtracting it. president obama, when he realized that the language was not in there and it wasn't there from the 2008 platform -- >> and that came after there was criticism of the platform. he didn't wake up one morning and doesn't it wasn't there. >> let's not make more of this than it is. there was not any discussion about the -- >> i mean on tv, right? >> no, no, no. i'm saying there wasn't any discussion before hand or even since the commentary afterwards. this was president obama's belief. see, the difference between our platform and the republican platform is that president obama knows that this is his platform. and he wants it to reflect his personal view. and mitt romney -- >> i hear you. i get it.
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we're not talking about the republican platform for a moment. >> there's a big difference. >> there is a big difference, but i want to focus on the democratic platform. so when there was a sort of backlash about these words not being in it, the president then said, this is my vision and added it back in. >> no, you can't make the if then statement. what i'm telling you is this was a technical omission. the adding of jerusalem into the platform was making sure that the platform reflected more clarity on what was already a strongly pro israel platform. >> but it was added back in because you were getting backlash about it. >> no, it was not. it was added back in because president obama personally believes that jerusalem is and will remain the capital of israel, and felt that the platform needed to reflect his personal view as well as the language from the 2008 platform. >> when you listened to that voice vote, part of the chaos was that -- and when i spoke to the mayor, l.a. mayor antonio villaraigosa, i said, you seemed surprised. and he said, no.
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and he seemed surprised that the ayes were as strong as the nos. it is. >> i've been a legislator for 20 years now. and i can probably count on one hand the number of times that a unanimous vote was held. so, you know, we have 6,000 delegates. you know, for there to have -- >> it was half and half. it sounded almost three times very, very close. and then at the end, he said well, 2/3 majority. >> soledad, i'll go back to the fact that tuesday, we adopted a strongly pro israel platform that was even -- had even stronger language on israel than the republican platform does. and then we added for the purposes of making sure president obama's personal view on jerusalem being the capital of israel always and should remain, now we have even more clarity in our platform. >> but last night you said, and anderson took you to task for this, he wasn't interviewing you but you were on the floor and you said there wasn't any discord. clearly, there was discord.
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we have video of people being angry. >> among 6,000 delegates, 6,000 delegates to have a small amount of objection in any essentially legislative process is sort of par for the course. and that's all that was. >> you were there. did it sound like a small amount of objection? >> no. there was some discord there. it was kind of hard to tell what they were mad about, whether it was god or whether it was the jerusalem thing. but we did see some delegates there. my question is, yes, i think it's fair to say that there was strong pro-israel language in the platform. but you know so well, maybe more than most, that the issue of jerusalem being a capital is so politically sensitive. was it just -- how did it happen that that wasn't in there, given the fact it was such a big deal that it was added four years ago for the obama campaign to have the olive branch to the jewish community? >> like i said, our platform already reflected president obama's incredible record in support of israel.
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reflected that president obama has always had israel's back and will continue, as well the democratic party. and he believed, because this was omitted, he believed that it needed to reflect his view on jerusalem remaining the capital of israel. and so for purposes of clarity, he felt it was important to add it in. >> did you? >> did i -- >> feel it was important to add it back in? >> absolutely, yes. >> so david is shaking his head, no, no, no. >> i wasn't at the platform meeting. and it's possible you've done your platform differently from every incumbent president in the history of modern platform writing. but the way it normally works is the president has somebody there. and on any issue the president cares about, the president indicates to the platform writers what the president would like to see. and on foreign policy issues -- >> like the republican platform with the human life amendment and mitt romney? >> no. the republicans don't have a president right now. >> you're right. >> the republicans don't have a president right now. >> a candidate or the president -- >> but the presidents have a lot
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of sway. because they have patronage powers. and mitt romney has much less control over his party than a president romney would do. but the president didn't -- ok. the question is did the president not have somebody there? and if the president felt so overwhelmingly passionately strongly about jerusalem, notwithstanding the fact that he didn't talk about it either in his big middle east speech, why didn't he just indicate, people do me a favor, include the language i want? >> he had a bad representative there? >> i've been listening to what debbie has been saying and apparently you're not listening. what she says is this is an election between mitt romney and president obama. and we wanted to make sure that the platform reflected the president's position on this issue. >> so they just forgot? >> in your platform, you have mitt romney running away from your platform on some issues. we wanted to make sure the president was in sync with the platform and that's why they made sure his position was in there. >> but it seems like an important issue to have a mess-up on. of all the things to have a
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mistake on, this particular one seems like a really big one to be like, oh, it was a technical issue. that's why people are a little cynical about that. >> clarity here is important. >> agreed. >> when president obama realized that an important issue like jerusalem, which he believes is and should remain the capital of israel, when he realized that that omission was there, unlike mitt romney, who says that he opposes his party's platform on human life, and that he wants an exception for rape, incest, and the life of the mother, never insisted, never did anything about it, didn't even try to change it, president obama when he realized there was this omission said this platform should reflect my personal view. >> the reason what you're saying is so noncredible is we all know that president obama does not feel strongly about jerusalem. he walked back his speech of 2008. he made a commitment on borders. he did not make a commitment on jerusalem. >> i strongly -- >> that's why should is sproesive. >> i strongly object and
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disagree with you. president obama as defense minister barack has said has been a strong friend of israel. >> that's not what i was saying. we were talking about how does he feel about jerusalem, and we know. >> we have a president who strongly supports israel and who strongly supports -- so strongly that he realized when our platform did not include language that he personally feels strongly about, he insisted that we put it back in. and let's compare that to the previous administration, who also had a president that said jerusalem is and should remain the capital of israel, and that he would move the embassy and didn't. words matter. but deeds matter more. and president obama has consistently had a record standing by israel, having israel's back. and making sure, unlike mitt romney, that he wants his platform to reflect his convictions. a clear choice and a clear difference.
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>> words clearly matter, that's why we're having this debate about what happened on the floor. >> now the words are in there because president obama believed they should be there. a short break. we're back in just a moment. the same set of values that drive our nation's military are the ones we used to build usaa bank. with our award winning apps that allow you to transfer funds, pay bills or manage your finances anywhere, anytime. so that wherever your duty takes you, usaa bank goes with you. visit us online to learn what makes our bank so different. i i had pain in my abdomen...g. it just wouldn't go away. i was spotting, but i had already gone through menopause. these symptoms may be nothing... but they could be early warning signs of a gynecologic cancer, such as cervical, ovarian, or uterine cancer. feeling bloated for no reason. that's what i remember. seeing my doctor probably saved my life.
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welcome back. we're coming to you live from charlotte, north carolina. tonight, president obama will deliver his acceptance speech to the democratic national convention. four years ago, you'll remember that this was the obama campaign anthem. ♪ yes, we can ♪ yes, we can ♪ it was -- >> the rousing cheer that
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inspired will.i.am to lend his talents to the campaign. it became a symbol of president obama's message. this week at the dnc he continues to show his support. i had a chance to sit down with him and ask him what should today's anthem for the obama campaign be. listen. >> today's message should be we are one. we are united. and we need to forge a whole new energy and american dream. what is the american dream nowadays? freedom? i can go to holland and be a little bit more free. i can go right up to canada and they have the same freedoms in canada. and i would get paid more money in australia. so what is our dream? because that dream that we made in 1940, we've got to remix that dream. we've got to remix america. >> got to remix that dream. you can check out the full interview with will.i.am tomorrow right here on "starting
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point." our "end point" is up next. back in a moment. to get the things you want from a bank, like no-fee atms, all over the world. free checkwriting and mobile deposits. now depositing a check is as easy as taking a picture. free online bill payments. a highly acclaimed credit card with 2% cash back into your fidelity account. open a fidelity cash management account today and discover another reason serious investors are choosing fidelity.
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oh, hey alex. just picking up some, brochures, posters copies of my acceptance speech. great! it's always good to have a backup plan, in case i get hit by a meteor. wow, your hair looks great. didn't realize they did photoshop here. hey, good call on those mugs. can't let 'em see what you're drinking. you know, i'm glad we're both running a nice, clean race. no need to get nasty. here's your "honk if you had an affair with taylor" yard sign. looks good. [ male announcer ] fedex office. now save 50% on banners.
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time for "end point." congressman van hollen? >> president clinton set the table very well for president obama tonight. and what clinton was saying that what obama is proposing is a 21st century version of economic policies like clinton had. he wants to take a balanced approach to reducingure deficit. if you do that, you'll have the growth and deficit reduction you had under president clinton as opposed to the economic collapse we had from 2000 to 2008. the american dream is real for the president. his story is the story of the american dream. he just wants to make sure all americans can have that dream. >> mr. crowley stole about 10 seconds from your 20 seconds. >> well, that's okay let me catch up. a little controversy on the floor, but basically democrats
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have had a very successful week. the bar is set high. the question is, can obama match it? the bar is high tonight. >> accolades for bill clinton's speech. but nobody should forget all of the key decisions leading to the housing bubble were made under bill clinton. to allow institutions to gamble with proprietary trading. the expansion of freddie may and fanny maie mae. he built that. >> dana, last 10 seconds. >> i think we saw the difference between a good communicator and a good ortar. bill clinton is a good communitior. obama is a good orator. and that's what we'll see tonight. check it out right here on cnn. we kick off at 7:00 p.m. eastern with wolf blitzer and anderson cooper. i'll be on the floor with the

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